About

Who we are

Aquí Estamos is a youth-led, queer people of color organization in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, a region along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mission

In order to create a safe community for diverse sexual and gender identities in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, Aquí Estamos aims to engage people in critical dialogue on the existence, theories, intersectionalities, and liberation of LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) identities in our region.

Aquí Estamos seeks to bring together LGBTQIA people of color and allies to identify the institutional, social, and cultural currents that oppress LGBTQIA people of color in our borderland. Aquí Estamos strives to challenge those currents by creating a visible and bold movement where LGBTQIA people can stand in solidarity for justice.

How we started

Aquí Estamos was founded on May of 2015 as the Rio Grande Valley’s first queer people of color conference. The conference took place on August 6 and 7, 2015 in McAllen, Texas with presenters from across the state of Texas and Mexico sharing knowledge on the intersectionalities of LGBTQ people of color, including immigration, reproductive justice, health in the Latino community, politics, legal issues, and transgender rights.